Journeys of Another World
by Pokepika's Haunt
Summary: Rated T for safety and swearing... Secrets are abound when the youngest of the Kurosaki siblings finds himself playing a role and on a journey far beyond even his wildest dreams. Role Reversal AU!Fanfic; More Inside...
1. Chapter 1

A/N. *sighs and hangs head in shame* I swore I wouldn't do this to myself and all of my readers, I swore it… I have no willpower, I am sad and pathetic and this plot bunny has been bouncing around my head for a weak when I realized I haven't done a role reversal for Bleach yet. And the creator for that series really wants to piss me off because A) he brought in fucking zombies, and I am sick and tired of hearing about fucking zombies and B) I think he killed Toshiro, one of my favorite second only to Tensa Zangetsu (Quincy Powers) and tied with Ichimaru Gin and Ichigo himself, and C) which has to be worst offense yet, because not only did he kill Toshiro and bring in zombies of all the undead creatures in the world, he turned Toshiro into a fucking zombie.

...I'm still reading it regardless, but still!

Also is anyone besides me amazed that Ichigo's only been fighting at what? 25% of his actual power up until this point. And if he's not in Bankai, and I don't think he is, I kinda want to see what the new one looks like.

Also I suck at summaries right now... I'm normally not this bad, but I didn't know what else to put because I wanted to be all mysterious and vague and surprising. But I'm not a very surprising person, am I?

**Warning: AU Fem!Ichigo Fanfic; Human(ish)!Tensa Zangetsu Fanfic. Sorry to those of you who were expecting Yuzu and/or Karin to be the shinigami in this...  
**

* * *

**A Beginning of a Different Kind**

* * *

It had been late, the sky caught indecisively somewhere between the blinding, inescapable darkness of the night and the fiery reds and oranges of a late autumn's afternoon. It had been supposed to rain at some point later that day, but he hadn't cared too much when he'd left the house, not even a minute after returning home from afterschool activities, because his father was being an unbearable prick of a man, bouncing about the living room and kitchen like he hadn't a single ounce of common sense about him, crying to a poster of their beloved mother and his dear wife after being soundly trounced by the second eldest and possibly the most violent person alive in Karakura Town. He doubted anyone would miss his presence within the house, or at the very it wasn't likely for another hour or so. Then they'd probably be tripping all over themselves looking for the wayward youngest.

For now though, he had some peace and quiet for himself. Some time to dwell in his own misery and sort his own thoughts. He didn't have to worry about evading his father's crazed attacks, or stepping on eggshells with his insane brother, or avoiding the eldest of the three sons because he didn't feel like answering questions. He never felt like answering questions, but it was difficult saying no to the eldest, who was an adult and the only one really taking care of them after their father pretty much went downhill in the sanity department. He liked jumping on his children and trying to pin them in awkward, painful positions a little too much, and attacking them in some strange form of wakeup call in the morning. That unorthodox _"training" _that managed to wake him from his most deranged of dreams, where he spent the night in near panic unable to wake up fully and caught somewhere between a nightmare and just one of those inexplicably strange dreams you don't _want _to remember in the morning. Hearing a voice he didn't recognize call out to him desperately, and him to useless to understand at the same time.

"_Tensa! Hey, Tensa! Where are you?!" _Pale blue eyes widened, a heart skipped a beat practically, and before the thought had even crossed his mind for him to process he was off and running.

It hadn't made sense, honestly it hadn't. That was his brother he'd been running from, his certifiably insane as fuck all brother, the second eldest and most volatile person he knew to date, unpredictable in nature but no threat to his family at all. _There still hadn't been a reason to run and what-the-fuck did he think he was doing?!-_ It was really too late to stop and turn back, or even just stop because he was already undeniably lost and in an unfamiliar dark alley in some unfamiliar part of town where no one could or would care to hear him scream like in one of those cheesy old horror movies the second eldest insisted they watch because he liked torturing their fool of a father, and when they were kids. It gave the two youngest an excuse to cuddle up to their mother for comfort, even when they weren't actually scared of anything at all.

It still didn't help the fact that he was probably seven different kinds of dead when he got home, because he's certain that said second eldest saw him before he had run off, and if the aforementioned albino wasn't going to kill him upon sight, the eldest would. _And what the fuck is that monstrosity drooling a lake in front of me?-_

"_**Hu… Hungry…"**_

"What the-!"

"_**FOOD!"**_

_KLANG!_

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A/N. Well short chapter is short, but it kind wrapped itself up quite neatly on a cliffhanger so... Please leave a review, and I hope you all enjoyed it, regardless of how short it was! See ya!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N. And here's Chapter 2.

Fun Fact 1: the first chapter was done technically yesterday, but I didn't get the chance to upload until just a few minutes ago. Fun Fact 2: Originally this was going to be titled something entirely different, but everything I came up with sounded lame or uninteresting, or just like it didn't fit at all. And even now I'm still not entirely sure if I'm okay with the title I gave it when I published the first chapter.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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**Dream or Reality**

* * *

The air had been crisp in a way that only autumn could be, a subtle chill in the air that wasn't too noticeable as long as one had the sense to dress appropriately those odd days when the temperature dropped a little and the wind blew just that bit more.

But now, as his body stiffened in preparation for the inevitable pain that was sure to befall him, it wasn't just slightly that side of chilly or even winter come far too early for any sane person's liking. No, it was the type of cold, the type of raw chill that made _ice _freeze, killed an uncontrollable fire, and stole the lives of men foolish enough to wander into what any sensible person would dub no-man's land.

It wasn't human, but then again neither had the monster than had decided he would be a good late-night snack before crawling under whatever child's bed to scare the ever loving shit out of them, or the near ethereal woman with long hair like fallen snow and skin so pale she looked just short of being dead who was holding it off as it's large clawed hands weighed little more feathers in the wind.

He was frightened, he was scared, for once he wished he'd had his brothers there with them, even his fool of a father because anything was better than this regular day turned nightmare. Anything was better than feeling so helpless and out of place, watching as a woman clad in strange garb taken straight from the feudal era of Japan all but cleaved that volatile, white masked creature in two. And watching it seemingly disintegrate, leaving nothing behind but the ghostly woman that had probably saved his life, it only barely crossed his mind that he should probably be thanking this odd stranger for saving his life.

"_Tensa!"_

He never had the chance though, the all too familiar call of his eldest brother's voice drawing his attention from the woman back towards the direction he had probably come from when he'd first done the idiotic thing of running off. The call was followed shortly after by the definitive thud of black, leather clad boots and worn down trainers on concrete and asphalt.

"Tensa!" As it turned out, it wasn't the eldest to reach the area first, but the second child of their rag tag family that did. And from the livid expression on his face, he had not been happy with the youngest's little disappearing act earlier. Or maybe it was the fact that he'd foolishly run from his family as if the mere prospect of them finding him frightened him to no end.

"Shiro-nii…"

"Kami… Where've ya been?! We were lookin' everywhere for ya!"

"Sorry…"

"Sorry? You fucking idiot!" He found himself clutching at the side of his head, the pain blossoming from the affronted area a constant reminder that his brother hit a lot harder than it actually looked like he could. "First ya disappear, than you run off on me when I called ya and now you're talkin' about monsters?! Did ya hit ya head on something or what?!"

"But I really did see a monster!" He had never felt more like a child than he did at that moment. Since when had he objected with such a tone? It certainly hadn't been recently. At least not since… He quickly dropped that trail of thought and went back to explaining the situation to his siblings. Or at the very least trying to. "There was this big, drooling monster and this woman suddenly appeared and killed it and…"

"Ok, now I know he's making this shit up! Monsters? And some baddy slaying chick?"

"I'm serious! It was wearing a white mask! And it had this huge hole in the middle of its chest!" At that the eldest of the two seemed to stiffen slightly, but it had been such a small gesture he'd completely missed it. "And the girl, she had long white hair, and pale skin… and…"

"And what? Stars for eyes?"

"No… she was wearing this strange black outfit, like straight out of one of those stupid samurai movies you used to watch! And air got really cold when she showed up too!" He almost missed the shocked expressions that dawned both of their faces, the looks so seemingly out of place it almost left Tensa gaping like a fish himself.

"Tensa, I need you to calm down for a bit… Tell me, did this woman you supposedly saw, did she have a sword of some sort?" the oldest brother asked, eyes narrowed with concern behind sunset orange glasses and a hand placed gently on his shoulder.

"Ask her yourself… she's right over…" Pale blue eyes had widened in shock the moment he'd turned around, the space the woman had been empty and bare of nothing that told of the brief battle that had been fought in its cramped spaces not even mere seconds earlier. "But she was…" He couldn't think for a second, now suddenly not so sure of himself and what he had seen. The woman was gone, of that there were no doubts, if she had even been there before. Shiro would be sure to mock him endlessly for this blunder, if he ever grew tired of laughing at him for every other goof up he'd ever made in the other's presence.

"Yep, he's losing it… Time to call the loony bin and have 'em totted off…"

"Shiro Kurosaki, that's enough, and we both know it."

"Ah, c'mon, even you have to admit you didn't believe him."

"Enough. It's late, Tensa is obviously tired, and in case you forgot in your little fit of laughter, we left our father alone at the house unsupervised." At that last reminder they all grimaced at roughly the same time, knowing that nothing short of the world ending in horrifying blazing inferno was going to make their arrival home any less stressful with their father jumping at them like an over-excited dog. "Now, let's go home."

"Yes, Onii-san" the two youngest echoed, one a little less _there _than the other, as the eldest led the way home.

He'd been so lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't realized that his brothers were both looking at him with growing concern, before turning to each other and whispering of secrets.

* * *

"Hmm… so he saw me...?"

_Aaaaaah!_

"They are lively tonight..."

* * *

A/N. Ok, maybe not the best ending. But I think it's a good one. Maybe one too many cliffhangers for this early on, but I'll try and balance that out somehow in the future… Anyways, please leave a review, hope you all enjoyed the chapter. And see ya!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

P.s. Am I the only one who thought Shun'ō was a girl? I'm starting to feel like that time when I discovered Blue from Blue's Clues was a girl and not a guy (and no, that's not because of her name or the color, it was how Blue's bark sounded.).

Anyways, hope you all enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

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**Fever Dreams?...**

* * *

_Everything was sluggish and heavy. Like water…_

"_Tensa…"_

_Water… He felt like he was drowning… Like he was in water and couldn't swim…_

"_Do you hear me, Tensa?"_

_And there was that voice, the one from his childhood. The one that had both soothed and frightened him in his nightmares as a child, the one that called to him endlessly…_

"_Tensa-k…"_

_He needed to get out, needed to find the voice, needed to-_

* * *

"Tensa-kun!"

His brain was slow to catch up to his surroundings, pale blue eyes staring dazedly up at the not-so-unfamiliar face of whoever had woken him up. There was recognition somewhere in the still sluggish reaches of his mind, muddled and confused as he was, and the feeling that he was still somewhere in a dream wouldn't leave him, but a quick glance at the clock on the bedside table told him all that he needed to know that he was just five minutes shy of being late to school.

"Tensa-kun, now, now. I went to all the effort of getting you up in Shi-kun's stead! Don't go back to sleep you'll be late!"

"Inoue-san?" The final pieces of recognition clicking into place as he finally matched a name to the brilliant blond hair and surprisingly boyish face that belonged solely to the younger fraternal twin of the Inoue siblings.

"Hey now, I told you to call me Shun'ō, remember? None of that 'Inoue-san' stuff now!" the intruder scolded lightly as he took several steps back to give the younger room to get out of bed, far too cherry this early in the morning in Tensa's opinion, but he held himself back from saying as such. As pleasant as Shun'ō was to be around, the youngest of the Kurosaki siblings would never hear the end of it.

"What are you doing up here?"

"Didn't I just say that? I came up in Shi-kun's stead to get you up! You're older brother was plotting dumping ice cold water on you and everything." He explained, holding up a finger as if to emphasize his point. "It didn't help at all that Tsubaki-nii-kun was encouraging him…" Tensa couldn't hold a chuckle at that, especially with being as early as it was and with the lack of sleep he'd been getting for the past few weeks due to the incident. The elder of the twins was just as bad as his older brother, and both were as incorrigible as three year olds in a toy store. He was certain that there was no helping those two in the least.

"Where's Onii-san?"

"Well, as you can probably guess. Shi-kun and Tsubaki-nii are downstairs waiting for the two of us. As for your eldest brother… I'm not entirely sure, but I think your father might've mentioned something about meeting a family friend…?" He paused in thought, as if trying to remember what exactly his father had told him. "I couldn't honestly tell amidst the hysterical crying after Shi-kun used him to all but put a hole in the wall. But he was long gone before we showed up."

"Ah…" It wasn't much in all honesty, but it was the best reply he could give considering how exhausted he felt. He hadn't completely made it out of the bed yet, and it was starting to look more and more tempting the longer he sat here talking with the older teen.

"Tensa-kun? Are you ok?" His thoughts were interrupted, and his attention thankfully drawn away from the bed and the comfort it offered by the question, but it took a bit for him to completely focus. He felt so slow… "Tensa-kun?"

"Hm? Yeah, just a little sleepy…"

"Are you sure? No offense, but you're acting a little strange, and also…"

"I said I'm fine!" He hadn't meant to snap at the other, honest. Shun'ō had just been showing his concern after all. But he wasn't up for being put under interrogation by his brother's friends, and besides he was just a little tired, nothing that a cup of coffee and breakfast wouldn't fix. "Sorry…"

"It's fine." Shun'ō replied, not looking the least bit bothered by outburst. At least, not on the outside he didn't. That was one thing about his brother's friend that he found somewhere disconcerting. Tsubaki, the elder of the twins, was expressive, even if overly violent and temperamental most of the time. But Shun'ō was comparatively different, deceptive and good at keeping his emotions hidden. It didn't help that Tensa couldn't see his eyes, what with them always being shut. He could never tell what the other was thinking no matter how hard or for how long he tried. "Ah, your brother was telling me about you seeing masked monsters?"

"It was nothing, me just making a mountain out of nothing." Tensa dismissed quickly, he wasn't up for explaining what he'd seen. Even if Shun'ō had been willing to entertain what he was sure both of his brother's passed off as the horror movie-fueled nightmares of a child, he wasn't about to give anyone else reasons to think he was just as crazy as Shiro or their father.

"Alright, you know you can talk to your brother, right? Shi-kun may be mean and loves to pick on others, but if it's something important, even if it's really nothing at all, he'll listen." Shun'ō had that strange tone again, the serious one that always made Tensa doubt whatever decision he had made. "You're family after all."

"Mmh…" He made a non-committal noise, finally rising from the bed to get ready for school.

"Well, best to get ready now, otherwise you'll really be late!"

* * *

"Well?"

The question came just as Shun'ō entered the kitchen, expression serious despite almost automatically being met with the scene of his brother being held in a headlock by the elder Kurosaki sibling, expression gleeful and merciless before his presence had been fully registered.

"He wouldn't talk to me about it, but then again I'm not you or Zangetsu-san." He answered, walking over to the table that sat in the center of the room and dutifully ignoring the poster that his friend's father had plastered onto the wall when they were younger and he just getting to know the siblings whose lives had been torn apart so quickly. He still sometimes couldn't believe that the seemingly crazed Shiro was the same lonely, overprotective child that had refused to let his baby brother more than five feet away from him at any given time, and wouldn't walk five inches from the side of his mother. The changes had been so drastic it almost didn't seem real, and it definitely did not make any sense.

"Shit…"

"Let go already, damn it! I can't breathe!"

"Hmm…? You say somethin', sorry couldn't hear ya over your own whining!"

"Why you little…"

"That's enough!" The two stopped just short of starting a brawl in the middle of the kitchen that would've surely left the room in ruins and made for a very difficult explanation to give the eldest sibling. "Shiro, let go of Tsubaki now."

"Aye-aye Captain." Tsubaki snorted at the comment, cut short from whatever sarcastic remark would've left his mouth as Shiro released his grip without warning, allowing the other to land on the floor in a reckless heap.

"Shiro…"

"What? I let him go!" The albino raised his hands, as if to say he was innocent of any and all wrong doings, and it was no fault of his if the elder twin got hurt. His expression mischievous in a way that only the owner could truly pull off, before it turned dead serious. "So he really didn't say anything?"

"No… And he wasn't willing to talk to me about the incident… Are you sure it was-?"

"How many creatures do you know of that wear bone white masks with holes in the center of their chests?"

"But still… We haven't had…"

"Are you both so sure it's a good idea to talk about this kind of stuff with Shiro's baby brother just up the stairs?" Said albino sighed at that, not able to deny or object with the amount of sense the comment made.

"Tsubaki's right. Now's not the time to be chattin' 'bout stuff like that." He conceded, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned into the fridge. "'Sides, right now we've got more stuff to worry 'bout. Zan-nii's not gonna be showin' up till the day after tomorrow and that's if we're lucky. I can tell ya right now Tensa's gonna notice his absence."

"No worries."

"Shun, what'd you tell 'em?"

"Nothing, but the truth."

"And that truth is?"

"That Zan-zan's out visiting a family friend. Of course I didn't say how long he'd be gone…" Shiro sighed, about to say more when they cut their were all forced to cut the conversation short as his younger brother finally joined them.

"Oh, good morning Inoue-san, Nii-san."

"Hmph...-Ow!"

"Be nice Tsubaki-nii…"

"'Mornin' squirt. Still dreamin' of masked monsters and ghost women?" The mentioning of the instant seemed to kill whatever good mood the youngest of the group might've been able to drag out between Shun'ō leaving him to get ready and him finally making it down the stairs, clad in the gray uniform of Mashiba Junior High. Shiro and his friends attended the local high school, but they would probably be adding the younger into their midst in a year or so if he so chose. It mattered very little at the moment though.

Now, Tensa looked angry, in that subtle way that his brothers and anyone else who knew him well enough could tell, and swore that only he could pull off. Shiro had liked to tease that he had inherited the expression from their stone-faced, aloof elder brother, but not even he could pull off the look. Now was not the time for teasing his brother about his varying expressions, or lack there might be of, they were all just short a few minutes of really needing to book it, and unfortunately Tensa would have to skip breakfast if they wanted to make it to class on time.

Regardless of how he might have acted towards the youngest sibling, he didn't like his baby brother skipping meals if it could be helped, and if Zangetsu had been present right at that moment, he'd be able to make them all sit down and have a proper breakfast. But their father had vanished sometime between his friends' first arrival and Shun'ō finally getting Tensa up for school, and the eldest sibling had made himself scarce sometime during the night. None of them could cook save for the eldest and youngest of the Kurosaki siblings, and Shun'ō if he ever felt up to the task or at the very least in the mood.

"I'm leaving." Tensa called from the door, voice strangely monotone as he fought with his own shoes to get them on his feet before he all but stumbled out of the front door and into the street. Shiro would've dismissed the lack of balance normally, if his little brother hadn't almost tripped and sent himself sprawling across the pavement. The pale eyed youth normally had more grace and balance than that.

"Whoa… Slow down there Ten… You ok?" Shiro called as he and his friends followed the other out the door, watching clear bewilderment as the younger stumbled to his feet.

"Yes… Why?"

"Well, normally you don't forget your jacket for one thing." Tensa looked back at him, clearly confused as Shiro held up the aforementioned article of clothing, a hooded, zipper-less jacket the color of a moonless night the younger had come home with one late afternoon out of the blue. For a few seconds there didn't seem to be any recognition in his younger brother's eyes, and Shiro was ready to drag him back inside and call their elder brother home from his little trip, when Tensa finally walked over to him and took the jacket from his hand, pulling it on before resuming his walk to school. "Are ya sure you're ok?"

"Mmh…" Tensa didn't respond immediately, giving him a noncommittal noise of sorts, before mumbling a response just loud enough for him to hear. "I'm fine… Just a little tired…"

"Tensa…"

"I said I'm fine!" Shiro visibly recoiled at the other snapping at him, expression clearly shocked at the sudden show of anger. If the albino bothered to look, he'd have seen both of his friend's with similar expressions.

"Little shit… I was just trying to be nice…"

"C'mon, we're gonna be late!" The three friends stared off at the suddenly volatile and bossy fourteen year old, expressions clearly confused and worried about the sudden shift in behavior.

"Shiro… What's gotten into your brother?"

"Yeah, he's not normally that pissy…"

"I'm not sure… But… I think Nii-san might have to come back early from that little visit of his…"

* * *

A/N. Well, that's that.

For those of you who are confused. I kind of traded Orihime out for two of her Shun Shun Rikka. I'll be honest with you guys. I thought long and hard about this. But the only way I could see this working is if I replaced Orihime with both Tsubaki and Shun'ō. Tsubaki's overly violent, and put that with Shiro, and I could only see it ending in disaster. And fire, lots of fire…

But if I only used Shun'ō, well it might've worked, but it just didn't seem like enough. And in my opinion the two make for the best character interactions when they're together, and add Shiro into the mix and magic.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and thanks again for reading. Please leave a review and tell me what you guys think! See ya!

Or something like that…


	4. Chapter 4

A/N. I just now realized as I finally type up a proper summary, that I never had the main characters clarified for this fanfic… Shit… Mind you I'm not sure if I should've actually put Ichigo in it since she hasn't even made an appearance yet… Maybe I should have put something else there… Oh well, I'll change it if I need to.

Um… So yeah, on to the story.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing… And no one… All rights go to Tite Kubo.**

* * *

**Fever Dreams**

* * *

He'd made it to Mashiba Junior High just fine, with as minimal incidents between himself and his brother as well as the elder's friends as he could've possibly managed with how he had been feeling at the moment. It wasn't that he meant to be so irritable with Shiro, but he was tired and his brother's constant pestering over his well-being, while appreciated, wasn't needed or entirely warranted. Yes, he'd been a little more clumsy than usual and maybe he was acting a tad immature and quick to yell. But he hadn't been sleeping very well either since the incident some weeks ago, and while the images didn't bother him nearly as much as they had the few days that had followed after, it wasn't an issue anymore. He was older now, not the five year old little boy who'd been too scared to stand up for himself and had been quick to cling to his mother or run to his older brothers when things got a little too scary.

He didn't Shiro or Zangetsu babying him anymore, he could handle himself just fine.

"Tensa-kun!" He shook his head, slightly startled by the sound of his name being called, and turned to face the speaker, pale blues eyes widening at the sight of familiar sandy blonde hair and brown eyes before he was all but tackled to the ground.

"Y-Yuzu?!" Said girl giggled at the shocked expression of her slightly older cousin, not loosening her grip in the least when she turned around slightly to wave at her sister.

"Karin! See, I told you Ten-kun wouldn't be late!"

"Yeah, yeah. He's here, now how about you let him up." Came the bitingly disinterested answer as a head of jet black hair finally appeared from the crowd of students Tensa had been trying to blend in with. Being tackled by Yuzu hadn't helped that endeavor at all, but it was a common enough incident that it failed to draw too much attention from his classmates, meaning he was likely to make it through the class largely unscathed and without being questioned endlessly by whoever was the most stupidly curious or brave.

"Oh…" Yuzu whined back, award winning pout in place to show her displeasure at having to release her precious cousin so soon after getting ahold of him. Frankly, he didn't need to be let up, since at least this time around, Yuzu hadn't managed to knock him onto the ground just yet. But her letting go of him sounded like a splendid idea in his books at the moment, and while he would've asked himself, Yuzu's kicked puppy look was something he couldn't stand seeing to any extent. "Alright." She finally said, admitting defeat at the deadpan look her sister gave her and finally releasing her cousin from her death grip.

He was like the older brother she and her sister had never had, and if she could get away with it, she would've loved if their mother adopted him, but Tensa had his brothers as well, and they would've surely missed him if he were gone. Shiro might've acted like he couldn't stand the youngest of his immediate family sometimes, but it was clear as day to Yuzu that he loved his baby brother dearly and would do his best to keep him safe. The same could be said for their eldest brother, who had a habit of showing about as much emotion as a rock and was just as quiet sometimes.

"Thanks Karin…" Tensa mumbled to the other as he walked past, straightening his jacket out after it got rumpled from Yuzu's impromptu tackle-hug. His pack had been dropped to the floor and had skittered couple feet ahead of him, but luckily it was on the way to class so he didn't have to worry about spending too much time looking for it and then having to navigate through the throngs of students still lingering in the halls.

"Don't mention it…" Was Karin's reply as she handed Yuzu her own bag, the girl having left it with her sister in her rush to shower her cousin with affection. "Hey, you ok?"

Tensa groaned silently at the innocent question, tired of people constantly questioning him on his health. He'd made sure he hadn't looked too terrible before he'd left for school, and while he had skipped breakfast, he felt fine. There might've been a slight aching in his head, but that hadn't made itself known until after Yuzu had all but tackled him to the floor. It would go away with time, and probably if he ate something eventually.

"I'm fine Karin, honest." He replied back, voice sounding unusually strained, before he continued on his way. " Besides we all need to get to class, and you two have a bit of walking to do anyways. I'll see you during lunch alright?"

"Fine," Karin consented, gaze serious as she continued to eye her cousin. "But if you start feeling worse before then, don't just sit there and take it. Go to the nurse…"

"Hai, hai…" He called back with a dismissive wave of his hand, not really listening to the other's advice as he finally slipped into the classroom.

* * *

There were students already scattered throughout the room, some sitting on the various desks talking with their friends, while others were in their seats, ignoring the world at large as they texted and fiddled with their cellphones. Not everybody was present yet, but it mattered little as Tensa took the desk closest to the window and as far back from the teacher as possible. The man was lenient when it came to seating arrangements, so unless it was absolutely called for, one could sit where ever one wanted to in the class, whether it be with friends or off in one of the back corners making yourself as inconspicuous as humanly possible without turning yourself invisible or just not showing up at all.

"Yo, Kurosaki-san!" Someone called out as he put his belongings down, taking a moment to sort everything out before he gave the person his full attention.

"Hm?"

"Did ya see the teacher at all before ya came in?" Tensa shook his head, just barely enough for someone to make out the negative response before returning his attention to fiddling with one of his mechanical pencils he rarely ever used but kept with him anyways. "Ah, well thanks!"

"Hmm…" He hummed under his breath he finally sat down. Releasing a tired sigh, he propped his head up, chin resting in the palm of his left hand and his gaze drifted easily and quickly to the view outside the window. The pain in his head was worsening and he was beginning to feel more and more exhausted the longer he sat there. He'd promised, sort of, that he would go to the nurse if it got any more unbearable than it was now, but he wasn't very likely to do so, and definitely didn't feel like having his older brother called from Karakura High to come fetch him and drag him home. He wouldn't ever hear the end of it from the albino.

* * *

_Tensa…_

* * *

His eyes felt heavy and his head even heavier, and the idea of just putting his head down and taking a nap for a few seconds, just resting his eyes really before class started, was sounding more and more tempting by the second.

* * *

_Tensa…_

* * *

'_Yeah… Just a little nap, nothing big…' _The thought was followed by a yawn and a slight increase to the pain reverberating through his head, before he folded his arms across the desk and put his head down. Eyes drifting close he sighed, already feeling slightly better. _'Just a few… seconds…'_

* * *

There was a clock tower… _But how did he know it was a clock tower? He couldn't see much of anything!_

Darkness and a clock tower and the moon and –_Was that a girl?_

He was seeing things… The dreams were back… Masked monsters something…

_Tensa…_

Who was the girl… Why couldn't he see her face? He knew this girl, knew in his heart who she was… So then why couldn't he come up with a name?

_Tensa…_

A name… His… _That's right. She's calling for you… Why don't you answer?_

_**Because you're drowning, drowning and there's nothing you can do. There's water everywhere and you can't breathe, can you? And…**_

_Tensa…_

'_What?'_

_**WAKE UP!**_

* * *

He was… confused. Or something along those lines. It wasn't very clear any more what was happening or what he was seeing. Everything was strangely blurry, but he was certain there were people around him, and maybe nobody had noticed he had fallen asleep. _'Sleep? Since when…'_

He felt sluggish and disoriented, maybe if he got up and took a bit of a walk…

"Kurosaki-san? Where do you think you're going?"

"O-Out?..." His response had sounded more like a question than an actual answer, but it was the best he could do considering how he wasn't really sure what he was doing himself. _'What was happening? What had happened? Was I asleep...'_

_Tensa…_

There was that voice again, the one from his dreams. And he really felt like he was truly losing it, because who hears voices in their heads like this. His head hurts and he can't think straight, isn't thinking straight. But if he can maybe get some fresh air and out of this school…

He doesn't hear Karin's voice when he exits the classroom finally, or the scream of horror for that matter when he hits the floor. He didn't feel the impact either but by then he was fairly certain he wasn't conscious anymore.

_Tensa…_

* * *

"What the fuck is going on here?!" That would be Shiro's voice echoing off the walls and resounding from all the way in the kitchen… Or it could be that the older was talking right outside his bedroom door. But he can't be very sure, confused and delirious as he is at that moment. Everything hurts, and while he wasn't completely sure why, he feels sluggish and his arms feel heavy even to him. Like nothing but dead weight, and he hates it with every fiber of his being.

"Shiro, calm down…" And that had probably been Zangetsu.

"Calm down? Calm down?! Zan, Tensa's sick and I have no clue what's wrong with him! Do you? Cuz if so please, share."

"That's enough Shiro, and you know it."

"I know it? I know it? At this point I don't know anything!"

"And neither do I, I don't have all the answers…"

"You certainly act like it-!"

"That's enough, the both of you!" There was the Old Goat, voice sterner than he remembered it ever being. Since when was he so serious and authoritive? The man couldn't even tie his own shoe laces without turning it into some over dramatized scene. "It's just a fever, there isn't a need to panic or lunge at each other's throats. Now Shiro Kurosaki, you will apologize to your older brother about your tone right now, and Zangetsu, it's fine… He'll get better, he just needs some rest."

"Sorry Onii-san…"

"It's fine… We're both worried, it's understandable." There was a couple beats of silence, where he might've blacked out he wasn't entirely sure.

"It's not… You don't think it's because of _that…"_

"I doubt it… But then again he hasn't had a run in with one of _those_ since Mom died. You have to remember he hasn't been getting a lot of sleep since… He's probably just really tired and this is just his body punishing him for the lack of rest."

"I hope so… I mean he can still see spirits but… Agh… I hate this!"

"I know, but there's not a lot we can do… We're not doctors like our father… The most we can do it sit and wait… And keep _those _from getting their filthy on him…"

"…"

"Besides… We have other concerns right now…"

"You mean _them?_"

"Yes…"

"Kami, this is a mess…"

* * *

A/N. Yeah, so I maybe had no idea where I was originally trying to go with this… I was kind of hoping to get to another hollow incident… But that didn't happen so maybe next time. But anyways, so Tensa is supposedly sick and hearing voices in his head. Not a good sign… Or is it? And Karin and Yuzu are his cousins and just happen to go to the same middle school as he does. And obviously the brothers and Isshin are hiding something from Tensa… Or trying really hard to do so anyways. Good thing he's too delirious to remember any of this.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story and thanks for reading! Please leave a review and see ya!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N. Thank you for tuning in to your regularly broadcasted Bleach Fanfic Chapter. Or something like that… It was supposed to be a joke, but like most of my improvised puns, it fell flat on its face.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoy the chapter and thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**Fateful Meetings**

* * *

The dreams had come back, of that much he was sure. He hadn't experienced them in years, strange images of _something _that he could barely remember the next morning and a voice that followed him, rattling around in his brain for days afterwards. He'd gotten sick easily back then too, headaches of varying degrees, the occasional fever that left him bedridden for at least a day, delusions. His family had been worried about him then too, but there wasn't much he could give them as an explanation. At least, not one that didn't make him sound crazy. What could he have told them anyways? That he was hearing voices in his head, was possibly losing it, and that it was nightmares that he could barely recall causing his decline in health. He wasn't even entirely sure if they had _been _nightmares. For all he'd known they were just strangely surreal dreams of strange places that left him feeling confused and as if he had known the place, been there before a dozen times, knew it like he knew the back of his own two hands.

He'd felt like he was losing it then too.

But back then there had been no strange, warped monsters wearing bone white masks and drooling a lake at his feet. There'd been no strangely ethereal women with long white hair the color of freshly fallen snow with eyes like ice clad in the black clothing of a time long gone by. No, all there had been was the fears and desperate loneliness, the destructive guilt of a child who'd lost what might've been the very center of his world. He remembered, faintly, like a dream, that at one point the voice might've even been comforting, constantly soothing him when his behavior became too erratic and not even his eldest brother could soothe him. Now though, it felt like he was being driven mad. Like it was trying to tell him something important, but he was too deaf, too disconnected from the source to properly hear it, and so the voice was punishing him for it.

For now though, that evening, he had some peace of mind. He'd been too delirious with what had apparently been a fever to remember anything clearly at the time, but he'd apparently wandered out of his classroom sometime in the middle of teaching, and without much direction from what any of the witnesses could say, stumbled down the hall before one of his cousin's had caught sight of him, just in time to watch him hit the floor like a sack of cement bricks. He'd clearly been seeing things, or maybe hearing things. Mumbling nonsense in his sleep as he'd been totted off to the nurse's office as someone called his father to inform him of what had transpired that day.

He'd been left in the nurse's office for what might've been an hour, as news spread fairly quickly between his immediate family and before anyone was completely sure what was going on, Shiro and his father had both arrived to come pick him up, while his eldest was apparently on his way directly home, earlier than what had been originally intended. But it couldn't be helped much, something had clearly been wrong with him.

In the end it had been chalked up to exhaustion, but Tensa had known better, and both of his siblings probably knew that he knew the real reason why he'd collapsed like he had. They also knew that he wasn't going to be sharing that reason with them any time soon. He had bigger concerns anyways, and so did both of his siblings. Zangetsu still needed to finish up that meeting he'd had to interrupt for his apparently ailing little brother, and Shiro had a big exam coming up that he couldn't afford to fail. Tensa refused to be a reason for his brothers to put their lives on hold, and he himself had a major exam he needed to study for anyways. It wasn't as important as Shiro's test, but it was still major enough that it warranted some effort on his part.

"How interesting…" He'd practically jumped out of his skin, hand clutching at the part of his shirt that rested roughly somewhere above where his heart was, eyes wide and disbelieving at the sight of the woman that he'd almost managed to convince himself was a crazy dream he'd been having. There was a bit of a clatter as his hand slipped, sending the majority of his notes and a couple of his textbooks to the floor, but he ignored it in favor of keeping his eyes trained on the strange intruder before him.

"W-Wha-?"

"So you _can_ see me…" She said, tone filled with wonder, as if she were staring at some sort of experiment or exotic creature she'd never seen before.

"Of course I can! Who are you anyways?!"

"Well, that's quite the rude way of asking for a lady's name… But then again, you are very young…" She mumbled the last part, but it was just loud enough that he could hear what she was saying. "And I did intrude into your home unannounced and without being invited. My apologies if I have offended you in anyway."

"Offended, how did you even get in here?!"

"Through the wall if you really must know." She smiled, gentle and pacifying, or at least that was probably what it was supposed come across as. All it served to do was put him on edge though.

'_Through the wall… But the only things I've seen that can go through walls are…' _Tensa quickly turned his gaze back towards the door to his bedroom, eying the woman for a split second before walking over to check and make sure one of his family wasn't eavesdropping on him at the moment. There was no way Shiro or his father hadn't heard the ruckus his books had made when they had hit the floor, so for them to not be loitering outside of his room would be unusual.

"Shiro-nii?" He called out hesitantly, half expecting his brother to appear from practically out of thin air. He had a bad habit of doing that, and if the strange woman sitting in his room right now wasn't going to bring up questions he didn't feel like answering, the sheer amount of noise he was making definitely would.

"What?!" The irritation was obvious in his brother's tone when the answer finally came, but it didn't give him any indication as to where exactly his brother was in the house. He could've been anywhere from the kitchen to the upstairs bathroom three doors down the hall from his own room.

"Where are you?"

"In the kitchen, where else would I be?!"

"Just curious!"

"Whatever!" He sighed, closing the door to his room again, before turning his attention back onto the woman. There was still several questions he wanted to ask her, but he wasn't entirely sure where to start. She still hadn't given him her name, and from the answer she had given about how she'd gotten into his room, if it were to be believed and she wasn't in fact, playing him for a fool, than she clearly wasn't human. But he'd seen his own fair share of spirits in his lifetime thus far. Save for his father, the whole family was spiritually aware to some extent. Even their mother had been, able to see the dead as clearly as she had seen the living. Just like he had at a very young age, but unlike the youngest of the Kurosaki siblings, she could tell the difference.

"Your brother?" The woman spoke again, shaking him from his thoughts as she settled down at the small table he'd been using to study. She had apparently taken it upon herself to clean up the mess he'd made as a result of her sudden appearance, sorting out his scrambled notes and even scrawling something into the margins occasionally. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that, but he'd let it slide for the moment. He wasn't entirely sure what he could do to her anyways, if anything at all. "He sounds like a handful."

"…"

"Sit down, please. There's no need to be so cautious of me, I promise." He was slow to comply, but she hadn't hurt him yet, and roughly a month before, she'd even saved his life, unintentional as it had probably been. "You asked for my name, right? I'm willing to tell you, but you have to give me yours in return. Ok?" She gave him another gentle, almost motherly smile, and if not for the striking differences between the two, he would've thought he was talking to Yuzu for a moment. But this woman was far more dangerous than his saint of a cousin who couldn't harm a fly even if she tried. If he hadn't been imagining the fight, and this whole little meeting in general, than the woman was far more dangerous than she rightly appeared to be. "I'm Shirayuki Sode, it is a pleasure to meet you, Child."

"…" Several beats of silence passed as he hesitated, contemplating the pros and cons of continuing this conversation, before heaving a sigh. "Tensa… Tensa Kurosaki."

"Tensa Kurosaki… A good, strong name for such a young child…"

"I'm not a child…"

"Oh? But aren't you? Not to be rude, but compared to me, you are very much a child. In fact, little more than a baby really."

"How old are you then?"

"Hasn't anyone ever told you it's a bad idea to ask a lady's age? But if you really must know, I've lived more than a hundred lifetimes."

"So you're not human…"

"No, I'm not…" He hadn't needed any confirmation for that. It was plainly obvious with just her presence. The longer they were in the room, the colder it seemed to get, and the more tempting the thought of fishing out his winter coat to wear sounded.

"Are you a spirit?" He finally asked after some time, watching in silent resignation as she finally placed his notes down on the table, finished with her filing of his own work as she tucked them into what she probably understood as the appropriate textbook.

"Something like that, yes." She answered as she placed the books in a neat stack. She finally placed her hands in her lap, folding neatly together as she finally placed her full attention on him. "But don't worry, I'm not here to haunt you or anything…"

"So then why are you here?"

"Honestly? I was… Well, quite frankly I was hunting something." She admitted, tone casual, as if she'd been talking about the weather instead of something potentially more serious.

"Mind if I ask what?"

"A hollow."

"A what?"

"A hollow. The spirits of those who have fallen into darkness and must be purified." She explained, expression now stone cold and serious. There wasn't a doubt anywhere to be seen in her posture, only a clear belief in what she was supposedly doing. "Well, that's the textbook answer anyways. To be more specific, a hollow is like that masked creature you saw roughly a month ago."

"So I really did see that?!" He asked, eyes wide and disbelieving. He'd thought he'd been losing it, that it was just something his tired mind had made up in a burst of uncontrolled imagination. But then the woman's appearance in his room further fueled the belief that it really had happened, and he hadn't actually been seeing things that weren't there. Making up monsters from the harmless shadows of that alley.

"Yes, and very dangerous. You're lucky I showed up when I did, otherwise you would've been its next meal."

"W-What…?"

"Though… I'm somewhat surprised that it hadn't attacked you sooner… You obviously have enough spiritually energy to be able to communicate and see me, and I bet…" She reached out slowly, an almost inhumanly cold hand brushing along his cheek gently, causing him to recoil slightly at the unexpected touch before she pulled back. "I thought so, you can touch me too. I'm as real to you as any living being."

"W-What is that supposed to mean? And what's up with the sudden grabby-ness…" He grimaced at his own inelegant choice of words, but he was so shocked be these developments, there wasn't much he could do.

"I'm sorry, just a small test really." She soothed quickly, hands up in a peaceful gesture, as if she were desperately trying to show him she met no harm. "As for what I meant… How do I say this in a way that won't… Hm…" She hummed to herself in thought, fingers holding her chin in an age old gesture as she wracked brain for answers. Finally she sighed, facial expression turning grim as she focused solely on him again. "I'll be honest, given the amount of spiritual energy you clearly have, and the fact that you are so keenly aware of us… That hollow from that time… was probably hunting you."

"W-What?"

"Hollows are souls who have lost their heart. And to feel the empty space left behind, they hunt the souls of humans. The loss of their heart leaves them with an insatiable hunger you see. People like you, spirits who possess an unnatural or unusually large amount of spirit energy, are very tempting to them. They'll do almost anything really, even attacking you in your own home." He must've looked absolutely frightened, because her serious expression completely disappeared, and the gentle, motherly one he had seen earlier came back full force. Shirayuki standing up, only to sit next to him, pulling him into her chest in what was supposed to be some sort of comforting gesture. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about it, but it felt vaguely familiar, and so he let it pass for the moment. "I'm sorry, I know this must be really frightening for you, who knew nothing until this very moment…"

"T-the hollow…" He tried, still shaken by the news as she let him go. He glared holes into the back of his hands, determined to not look the woman in the eyes, even though she'd done nothing wrong.

"You mean the one I was hunting when I showed up here, correct?" He nodded, unable to give a verbal response. "What about it?"

It took a couple of seconds for him to finally drag his voice out from wherever it had fallen.

"Where did it go? Do you know?"

"That's actually problem. I don't."

"What?!"

"Calm down, alright? It does no good for you to become so jumpy. It gets nothing done, I promise you." She soothed a hand on his shoulder to keep him in his seat. "I was hunting it, and I managed to track it down to this general area. But then I lost the signal."

"Can't you find it?!"

"I've been trying… But I think you might be stopping me…"

"What do you mean I'm stopping you?! I can't-!" She pulled him into another hug, whether it was to calm him down or not, he wasn't entirely sure.

"I said calm… And you can actually. Now that I've gotten a chance to take a closer look at it. Your spiritual energy leaks out quite a bit. And unfortunately that is what's keeping me from finding the hollow."

"But…"

"It's fine, I promise I won't let the hollow eat you." _'But that's not the problem here… It's not me I'm worried about, it's Shiro-nii-san! He's downstairs unaware that there's a masked monster running around somewhere near the house! He can see spirits too, what if it-!' _His frantic thoughts were interrupted by the sound of horrid noise, some type of howling, sorrowful and unnatural in the way reverberated along the walls. "Damn!" The woman swore loudly, shocking Tensa as she quickly shoved him aside. "Stay here!" She demanded, grabbing the blade she'd left sheathed on the floor next to them as they had talked, before darting out of the room at a speed he hadn't known she was quite capable of.

"Wait-!" He called, too late as she was gone down the stairs. The spirit, Shirayuki, had told him to stay in his room. But if that howl was any indication as to where the hollow-thing she'd been telling him about was, than with how close it sounded, it was definitely in the house. _'If the hollow's in the house… Then…' _Pale blue eyes widened in horror at the sudden realization. "Shiro-nii!"

* * *

The living room was a mess. What had been the sofa, and Shiro's favorite spot to laze about, was now smashed against the far wall, the TV was irrevocably broken, smashed beyond repair, and what might've been his father's arm chair was shredded beyond recognition. The damage was bad, but what was worse was the blood that lay splattered across the floor and walls. There was a strange, giant monster far bigger than anything he'd seen before standing in the middle of the ruins that was the clinic and living room, the obvious cause for the now gaping hole where a window and wall had been. He couldn't quite see where Shirayuki had gone, but the air was colder than it should've been, even this late at night at such a close time to winter, so she was still somewhere nearby, of that much he could be certain.

'_So much blood… But where is…' _Tensa quickly scanned the decimation, looking for any sign of the albino that was his insane brother. At first he couldn't see anything, giving him the hope that maybe Shiro had left sometime during his conversation with the strange spirit, but that had all been quickly dashed when he caught a spec of white that definitely wasn't the woman. _'Shiro-nii!'_ His eyes widened in barely hidden horror, not quite believing the sight that was plainly before him.

The monster, the hollow, was standing over the prone form of his older brother, clawed hands keeping his unconscious form pinned to the ground. It was clear he'd been injured badly, though whether it was from the monster's initial entrance or actual attempted combat with the creature wasn't entirely clear. _'Shiro-nii! Shiro-nii's hurt and it's all my fault… That monster… That damned monster killed my older brother!' _He was conflicted. He was frightened and angry and sad, without a weapon and wanting that monstrosity to pay for what it had done to his family. It had killed his older brother, and at that moment, all he could think about was how badly he wanted it to suffer.

"You BASTARD!" He yelled, picking up a plank of wood that had mostly once been a part of the now destroyed wall of the living room, before charging the creature headlong. It was half-baked, completely reckless, and he knew he was probably going to die. But he couldn't stop himself, and he'd long since drawn the creature's attention to himself when he'd screamed at it like he had. At this point there had been really nothing else to do but attack.

By some miracle, he'd managed to duck underneath the creature's initial strike, a wide swing with the clawed hand that hadn't been holding down his brother's broken body, before whacking it soundly across the face with plank of wood. There was a sharp sound, like gunfire, but it did nothing to slow him down, far too enraged to care when he took another swing at the creature in hopes of at least getting it to let go of Shiro. The creature seemed laugh him off though, releasing his grip on the albino to grab at the wooden plank in Tensa's hands as it blocked with the other, before sending him flying into the far wall.

"_**Food… Hungry…" **_It rumbled, slowly making its way across the room to the now prone form of the young teenager. The wind had been knocked out of him, and dazed as he was, he was certainly finished. The creature would have him for a snack, and all he could do was blame himself for his own foolishness.

"Watch out!" A voice called, somewhat familiar to his stunned brain, but not ringing true enough to snap him completely out of it. There was something wet splatter across his face, most likely blood, but there had been no pain to follow it. _'So then what's bleeding?'_

"You foolish child!" Tensa's eyes widened in horror as he finally realized what had happened. Shirayuki had protected him, shielded him from the monster's attack even though he had probably deserved to die acting as recklessly as he had. "I told you to stay in the room, not follow me down stairs into the thick of battle!"

"I-I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm-!" She collapsed onto her knees, cutting him off as she drew him into a hug, something she seemed to have taken quite a liking to in the short they had known each other.

"You foolish little boy, you were supposed to stay put. It's dangerous here…"

"Why did you protect me like that… You could've-!"

"You are young, far younger than I. You have so much more to live for… I couldn't live with myself if I let such a young light be snuffed out so easily…" She turned, coughing slightly at the strain she was forcing her body to go through, before fully facing the creature. "Go, run. I'll stay here and hold off the hollow."

"But-!"

"No buts! ... Go, now!"

"Sh-Shirayuki-san!" The woman gave him no chance to object as she charged the creature head on despite her injuries, sword flashing through the air as she made for the creature's mask. The seriousness of her injuries slowed her down though, giving the creature enough time to not only block but also knock her back into the same wall it had sent Tensa flying into earlier. "Shirayuki-san!" He called out, running over to the woman to make sure she was okay. She definitely was not though, clearly losing far too much blood far too quickly. At the rate this was going, they'd both die, but what could he do. He had no power, and this creature far stronger than he was.

"Tensa, what are you still doing here?! I told you to flee!"

"B-But… I can't… I…" _'I've been doing nothing but running ever since she died… I can't…' _The hollow was approaching the pair now, yellow eyes glowing a sickening color as it licked its lips, expectant of the delicious meal it would be having soon. As he looked into the creature's unrelenting gaze, something seemed to click in him finally. _'No!'_

"Listen to me… I'll see what I can do, but you need to get out of here now, I can't protect you and fight the hollow at the same time! It's-! What are you doing?!" Shirayuki all but screamed at him, eyes wide in her own version of horror as Tensa stood in front of her. He barely knew the woman, hadn't even known her for all that long. But she'd done so much for him, risked her life for what was essentially a stranger. He couldn't just sit back and watch the monster kill her, turn and run to save his own skin and leave her to meet a horrid fate.

"I-I've… I've done nothing but run ever since that day. From my family, from the few friends I had back then… From myself… I- I'm tired of running all the time…" Shirayuki stared at the boy's back, eyes wide in shock, before she gave a snort stuck somewhere between amusement and disbelief. "I might not have any powers… But I won't just roll over and die! I refuse!" He took up an old martial stance, something from his days of karate before he'd quite a couple of years ago. It would hopefully keep him alive.

"You foolish little boy…" Shirayuki's voice echoed from somewhere behind him, a pale hand landing on his shoulder. "You're not strong enough to take on a hollow…" she sighed, obviously resigned to the fact that she probably wasn't going to be able to convince him to do otherwise. "But with the reiatsu you currently have… If you become like me, become a shinigami, you might just be able to pull this off."

"Reiatsu… Shinigami?"

"I'll explain them both later. Right now, we've got bigger fish to fry." Tensa stared at the woman in shock for a moment, before nodding his head in understanding, expression serious and eyes blazing with determination.

"How?"

"Run yourself through with my blade, and I'll transfer some of my powers to you. Hopefully it will be enough."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then we're both dead." Tensa couldn't help the bark of laughter that left him, dry and sharp enough to make his throat hurt.

"Well, then we have nothing left to lose." He said, keeping his eyes trained on the hollow that had done nothing but patiently stand there, obviously thinking that there was nothing to fear from the two of them. And why shouldn't it, they both were clearly on their last legs. Helpless to stop it. But if this plan of Shirayuki's worked, they might just stand a chance.

"I refuse to just sit here and do nothing!"

"Ready?"

"Let's go!"

* * *

A/N. So what do you guys think? I hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading! Please leave a review and see ya!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N. Here's a new chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

**Late Night Talks of a Nightmare**

* * *

He had woken up in a slight frenzy, feet and legs tangled hopelessly in his sheets and body clammy with sweat. There was scream lodged somewhere deep in his throat, threatening to strangle him as he struggled to get out of the sheets and just somewhere that still made sense in his confused and muddled brain, but all he could think about was blood and the mangled bodies of his family and… It took all he had to keep that scream from finally forcing its way out of his mouth as he gulped for the air he wasn't entirely sure he was getting enough of. Finally, after a few beats of silence, broken only by the ugly sound of him gasping desperately for air and his rapid heartbeat lodged somewhere in his ears, did his mind finally settle into something at least resembling peace. It was a miracle he could think at all, but at that moment, when startling clarity finally broke through the fear that was swallowing him whole, it was all he could do to not fall flat on his face as he fumbled through the blinding darkness of his bedroom.

"Shit!" He called out, voice a harsh whisper as he stubbed his two on the table that sat harmlessly in the center of his room, having to restrain himself from kicking the thing clear across the room and furthering any more injuries he might receive in the process. It mattered little in comparison to his real intent at the moment, so he put aside the inevitable grudge against the inanimate object for later. _'Shiro-nii… If I can just…'_

He wasn't entirely sure what he planned on doing once he was at his brother's room, but he just needed the reassurance really. The thought that no, his brother wasn't dead, he was very much alive, and that the occurrences from that night had been nothing but a nightmare. Just a really bad dream that left him shaking like a leaf in the wind and stuttering for his next breath. Something to make the world around him seem that little bit more real and less like something straight out of a horror movie.

The door to the albino's room was covered with various posters of his brother's favorite bands, whether they be from rock to even R&B music when his brother wasn't feeling so rebellious and out there in his own self-inflicted insanity. The older would've never admitted it, but he was almost certain that he'd started listening to that kind of music because there was once a time when all those heavy metal bands had given his little brother nightmares, solely convinced by their father that they were brainwashing his older brother into summoning demons to make an army to take over the world. He'd felt irrevocably stupid for it later, being so foolish as to believe their father considering the man liked to over exaggerate everything he said when he got into one of his moods. But Shiro had taken it in stride, socking his father a good one for sending his baby brother into hysterics like that, before sending the youngest off to the eldest for comfort and closeting all the alternative and rock/punk bands for when his brother was a little older and better able to cope with whatever wild stories their father came up with.

He'd have laughed at the memories those thoughts brought on, if it weren't for the fact that he felt like if he opened his mouth for even a second, he'd break down. So instead he swallowed whatever emotions were bubbling in his throat, and reached out, slowly turning the knob and opening his brother's door. It gave a harsh squeaking sound that made him wince, but he continued anyways, peaking in to see if his brother was really okay. There was a suffering groan at the noise, followed by the sound of movement, muffled by the shifting of sheets, before a clicking sound could be heard and a light flashed on, blinding the youngest.

"Tensa? Dude what are you doing here, you know how late it is?" Shiro called out, rubbing at an eye as he pulled himself out from under the sheets, taking a quick glance at the alarm clock next to his bed.

"S-Sorry…" There must've been something in his voice, because immediately after the apology, the other was completely awake, a lot more aware of himself and what was around him as he sat up, eying his brother with an expression of growing concern.

"Tensa…" He must've looked terrible to his brother, because he shifted again, feet swinging over the edge. He couldn't let him worry though.

"N-no, it's fine really. No need to get up…"

"No need to get up my ass!" Shiro barked out, giving the younger that look that told him clearly that whatever excuse he was going to give him wasn't going to work. "Now get over here you idiot!" He called, motioning for the other to enter the room, instead of standing at the door like he had been.

"…" Tensa said nothing as he slowly approached, eyes shut tight when he was within arm's reach of the elder of the two, fully expecting for the albino to hit him for his own foolishness. He was shocked though, when instead the other grabbed him and pulled him into a one-armed hug, awkward but comforting in its own sense.

"You idiot! Whatever's bothering you, don't worry about it. Bad dreams, monsters under the bed, doesn't matter. If it wants to hurt you it's gotta go through me first. Understand?" Shiro said, voice serious in a way seldom seen since the incident several years back. "You're always trying to hold the world on your shoulders, but you're too damn scrawny to be pulling any shit like that. Have faith in your older brothers, alright you little shit?"

"H-Hai…"

"Good, now get out of my room and get back to bed, before you start crying to Onii-san about me conjuring fucking demons again!"

"I was six! Let it go already!" Tensa cried out in objection, embarrassment clear in his expression as his face colored a bright shade of vivid red.

"Nope, now get, ya little idiot!" Shiro scoffed, snickering uncontrollably as he ruffled his baby brother's hair before shoving out of the room unceremoniously. "Good night!" He called out, following the other to the door to make sure he got back in his room okay.

"Yeah, yeah…" The other groaned out, shutting the door as quietly as he could manage with how flustered he was. "Good night… Shiro-nii."

* * *

The hallway descended into silence, as still as a graveyard almost too suddenly, as Shiro stood there, cellphone flashing repeatedly from some obscure corner of his bedroom. He counted silently to himself, the several beats necessary before he was sure the youngest of his siblings was out like a light, and wouldn't wake up till the sun rose in the next four or so hours. Enough time for his older brother to sneak into the house undetected, had the albino not been woken up by his baby brother. But he had, so instead of going back to bed, much like his body wanted him to do, with how heavy his eyelids felt and how sluggish his limbs were, he trekked his way down the stairs, years running up and down them driving his father and older brother crazy and egging the youngest to follow suit having guided him into not faltering once.

"I see you're awake." The gruff voice came, deep and as serious as it always was when it was too late or far too early in the morning for anyone to be so awake. But it was no shock, and there was no surprise to be found on the albino's expression as he flipped one of the kitchen lights on, carefully pulling out a wooden chair, before falling gracelessly into it.

"And I see you still have that bad habit of sneaking back into the house in the middle of the night." He countered, eyes narrowed and tone just as serious as the other. "Zangetsu-onii-san."

"Hmm…" The man hummed lightly, fiddling with something on the stove. Shiro had always found his older brother to be a striking figure, intimidating if nothing else, when he was younger. And the thought still stuck to this day, clad in a dark suit with medium length brown hair, just as ragged and untamed as their little brother and pale blue eyes hidden behind orange sunglasses, though those were bereft at the moment, location unknown and forgotten for now. Zangetsu was tall, had always been tall, and his shoulders broad.

An unshakeable mountain if the albino had ever saw one, but one he'd trust through thick and thin, just as much as he trusted his friends.

"What happened while I was gone?"

The voice came unexpectedly, shaking Shiro from his thoughts as a warm cup of tea was placed in front of him, before the elder took a seat himself. He shrugged, not quite sure where to begin. Zangetsu had come back from his little trip early when Tensa had fallen strangely ill a week ago, wandering out of his own classroom delusional and collapsing in the hallway right in front of their younger cousins. There hadn't been a similar incident since luckily, save for maybe the occasional moment when the youngest seemed to space out, his mind, and maybe even soul, somewhere too far away for either sibling to bring him back.

It was frightening, how quickly they seemed to be losing Tensa. He'd grown distant after the incident some years back, the death of their mother having taking its toll on all of them. Back then the youngest of the three had been inconsolable, nightmares frequent and uncontrollable, debilitating in how frantic and panicked they left the then eight year old. Back then it hadn't been uncommon for Zangetsu or Shiro to wake up in the middle of the night to their baby brother's terror filled screams, seeing things that weren't really there, hadn't been there in some time.

But they had gotten better, he liked to think. Tensa had calmed down, the nightmares had vanished, his delirious, sickly little brother wasn't in any danger. They would've been okay, should've been okay.

For now, they were close enough that they wouldn't fall apart at the drop of a dime.

"Dreams…" The revelation was sudden, clawing its way through his thoughts, screaming to be heard as golden yellow eyes widened in realization.

"Hmm?"

"Dreams… Back then, Tensa had dreams too."

"He was very sick, out of school a lot yes. What made you think of that?" Zangetsu added, dark brown eyebrow lifting in confusion, not able to make any connection between his own question and whatever had brought on this topic.

"You don't think…"

"Don't think what? I can't read your mind Shiro, much as I'm sure you and Goat Face would like to disagree…"

"Don't compare to that maniac." Shiro bit out, chin resting in the palm of one pasty white hand as he leaned all of his weight into his elbow, eying the other as if he had all the answers. "Tensa had nightmares back then too, and every time he had one, he got sick. Delirious, talking and screaming about things that weren't there or that we couldn't see."

"And you think there's a connection between his dreams and illness of back then and whatever sickness plagued him at school?" Zangetsu caught on quickly.

"The attending teacher at the time said that Tensa had him he was leaving… Where in the world do you think Tensa thought he was going?"

"I'm not entirely sure if he himself knew. It didn't seem like he was completely aware of much of anything at the moment, let alone his own intentions."

"Hmm… Well, it's still something I have to think over a little bit, and besides, we've got bigger concerns right now."

"Mmh."

"Mainly that fucking gaping hole in the wall in our living room. I was here all last night… So how did it get there, I don't remember us getting attacked or anything." Zangetsu hummed, deep in thought for a few moments before finally speaking up after taking a sip of his tea.

"There's a hollow's reiatsu all over the place…"

"What? You don't think…"

"No, not yours… It's something else… There was a battle in our living room for certain."

"What do you mean?"

"The living room is starkly colder than the rest of the house for some reason, there's a hollow's spiritual energy all over the place, and also a shinigami's."

"Fuck… How did all that happen without me noticing?!"

"I highly doubt it did. You said you don't remember…"

"They messed with my memories… It shouldn't have worked though… Unless…"

"Unless you'd been severely injured," Zangetsu finished the thought with a sigh, expression weary as he eyed the obvious, gaping hole in the wall. They were silent for a few moments, Shiro running his hands through his hair as he tried to force himself to remember what wasn't there any longer to recall. Suddenly, he recalled Tensa's panicked expression when the youngest had come barging into his room, clearly terrified of _something_.

"Tensa knows…"

"What?!" The eldest brother's eyes widened in disbelief, staring at the other in clear shock.

"Tensa knows…" He repeated slowly, not quite sure he believed the words himself. "Kid looked so terrified when he came into my room, I thought it might've been a bad dream that got the best of him… But…"

"If he'd seen the hollow, and you'd been hurt by it… He wasn't coming to you because of a bad dream, he came to you to make sure you were okay. That you were alive."

"But why erase my memories of the attack and not Tensa's? I mean, he might've thought it was a bad dream, but if he comes downstairs and sees that giant ass fucking hole in our wall, he's gonna know for sure that whatever he saw last night happened!" It took all he had not to scream that last part out. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

Of everyone in the family, the last one they wanted exposed to any of this was their baby brother. He wasn't supposed to know about hollows and sword carrying death gods. He could see ghosts, just as well as the two eldest sons and their mother had, but he wasn't supposed to see the bone mask wearing monsters or the spiritual army that fought them tooth and nail with their lives on the line to keep the damage they inevitably wrought to a minimal. It wasn't supposed to play out like this.

"Fate really is a fucking bitch!" He swore, fighting the urge to slam his fist into the wall. They already had one hole too many, they didn't need a second. With a sigh he finally slumped over, exhausted and in dire need of something to relieve the stress. "What a nightmare…"

A/N. So what do you guys think? Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for reading. I'll try and kick this story into moving a bit more so please leave a review. See ya!


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